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Sound Engineering and production Michael ZaneskiAll other instrumentation whether real or virtual by Michael ZaneskiBacking vocals by Michael ZaneskiGuitar Solo in the outro by Michael ZaneskiEvery time you hear a cranky cool "spaghetti Western-ish" guitar fill...that's Michael Zaneski.

This song is 2 of 7 in a song story and will become part of a score for an audio-book thatMichael is going to help me record. This song describes a voicemail by a betrayed loverleft on the cell phone of the betrayer.

This will probably be the last song that I put up on a song site until the audio-book is complete and at least a dozen book publishers and/or literary agents have declined it. Hey, got nothing to lose by trying.

I enjoyed the second "chapter" of this "novel" and hope you've found a way to "open the lock to the money chest." Best of luck in this interesting project. There is a publisher out there... and no doubt, you will find them. Interesting concept and from what I've heard thus far, destined for good things. Z's work certainly enhances this creative story. See you when you have the time. Happy trails! ----Dave

I enjoyed the second "chapter" of this "novel" and hope you've found a way to "open the lock to the money chest." Best of luck in this interesting project. There is a publisher out there... and no doubt, you will find them. Interesting concept and from what I've heard thus far, destined for good things. Z's work certainly enhances this creative story. See you when you have the time. Happy trails! ----Dave

Thanks Dave.

An unknown author's chances are no better than an unknown songwriters, but it'll be fun to try.

This opens with such drive and emotion musically—having heard the first chapter I can feel the transition to his point of view. A strong follow up, solid all the way through. I’ll offer one suggestion that struck me each time I listened (and, yes, I listened multiple times). I love the line “When you're the one that done it, not the one done to.” I might go for “When you’re the one that done it, not the one you done it to.” I know it adds two extra syllables, but there’s room for it and, to me at least a rhythm in the saying. As Eddie would say, "use or lose". Loved the listen, the performance—all. Keep it coming!!

When I first wrote that part of the lyric, I wrote it exactly as you said. Then, I was singing it with the guitar and it abbreviated itself without me really intending that. I ended up going with the abbreviated version because I liked the way that it "landed" emotionally.

"not-the one-you done-it to." (bum-pa bum-pa bum-pa bang)

"Not-the one-done-to." (bum-pa bang bang bang)

Now that I'm looking at it again, I'm not sure that I like the version that I used better.

This little project with the written chapters has turned into a much larger endeavor than I thought it would. IF...a real publishing house or agent takes a liking to it (and not some outfit that is just churning editing fees) then the entire thing will be back on the drawing board. I'll keep your comment in mind and appreciate you making it.

So emotional and well put together, Martin. You have a great team. Looking forward to the next installments. Tell me again why you won't be posting them here?

Ricki

Ricki

I'm very glad that you asked that because it gives me a chance to expose my ignorance and maybe learn somethiing.

Background...

Rather than writing to a hook, I wrote a situational song story about a young couple from Cheyenne, Wyoming.It involved a love of your life relationship that was destroyed by an indiscreet night. The story went from start thru destruction thru desire to reconcile to resolution.

Then I decided to write a short story about the song story figuring that it would be 6000-10000 words.So far, Chapter one is 20,000 words and so is chapter two. The seven songs will turn into seven chapters.It looks like I'm headed for 80,000 to 100,000 words. A short novel.

I decided to shoot for an audio-book complete with complimenting songs. I'm gonna recite the book myself which is harder than one would think...and intersperse the songs. All with the help of the very talented Michael Zaneski.

Going forward only on intuition and what I have found on the web...

These days an unknown writer has to pay a real publisher to review their work.It seems that two chapters is what a lot of them want to see to conclude whether it is any good or not.Of course, I enjoy my writing but I have no idea if someone in the book business would see it as meritorious or just a string of tired and poorly written cliches that would interest no one enough to purchase.

I'm personally convinced that if you have a good idea but are not "connected" and post it on the web, then some writer or agent is going to steal the idea and give it to someone that they control. Re: Chelsea Clinton and the current lawsuit against her children's book.

The dilemma starts to look like seven card stud. Seven cards or chapters with two exposed to view to show that you have something and five cards down to make it hard to know what all you might have.

And as I stated, that assumes that it is meritorious and not just a string of tired cliches.

Martin, 80,000 words is not a short novel. It's about standard length. 20,000 words is a huge chapter! I haven't seen it obviously, but have you thought of dividing the book into parts and having chapters within each part?Don't pay a publisher to look at your work. And certainly don't pay to be published. Better to do it all yourself.

Martin, 80,000 words is not a short novel. It's about standard length. 20,000 words is a huge chapter! I haven't seen it obviously, but have you thought of dividing the book into parts and having chapters within each part?Don't pay a publisher to look at your work. And certainly don't pay to be published. Better to do it all yourself.

Thanks Gavin.

I'm already learning something. I thought that Novels started at about 80k words and went up from there. I do have the first two chapters divided into five or six sections each as subtitles. My only beta reader so far is my wife (who is not an expert but an avid fiction reader) and she said that I needed to create sections to keep the reader oriented. I'm trying to stay with the idea of one chapter per song.

My goal is to complete the audio-books and then find a dozen people truly in the business to present them to. I'm thinking a dozen reactions will tell me if I'm any good or not. I don't mind paying for that if they are the real deal.

Would never pay a "dream-churner" to publish the audio-books. That would be wasted money. If I am told that there is nothing exceptional about my stuff, I plan to finish anyway and put it up on some free download site somewhere...and have done it. Will be able to scratch... "writing a book and gave it a shot"... off of my bucket list.

I appreciate your feed back. Anything else that you want to share that will keep me from stumbling in the dark is appreciated.

So emotional and well put together, Martin. You have a great team. Looking forward to the next installments. Tell me again why you won't be posting them here?

Ricki

Ricki

I forgot to say thank you for the encouragement.

And yes...working with the "Michael Zaneski Orchestra" is very pleasurable. What I've learned in doing a handful of songs with him is that...if we have a difference of opinion on something musical, there is a 99% chance that I am going to end up going back to what he suggested in the first place. After two or three of those occurrences, once I give him some stems, I stay out of his way.

I tell ya...I have songwriter pal here in Houston who I enjoy running into from time to time. He suggested that I pay someone who spun off NSAI 25 bucks to evaluate one of my songs. He said that if that person likes it they might plug it in Nashville. So I did. The response I got (paraphrased)...

The lyric is well written and the music is good but I don't think anyone would listen to it twice". ;(

My point? I have a well developed mental and emotional gear for hearing that kind of assessment about my songs....but "Brilliant!"...I had to sit and look at that for a few seconds. I wish it were true but don't think that it is, nevertheless, thank you for writing something so kind and encouraging.

If there is any brilliance in the recording...it's in the sensibilities of Michael.

Martin and I have a lot of overlap in our musical appreciation, so it's easy for me to arrange and produce rather intuitively and know that I'm at least hitting the mark somewhat.

Plus, I think I mentioned before, his own guitar work gives me lots of ideas in and of itself, in terms of doubling and harmonizing with other instruments. It's full of hammer-ons and pull-offs and chordal suspensions and is pretty damn contrapuntal for a mostly non-fingerpicking style.

Anyway, thanks friends.

And Martin, you aren't afraid to let a serious song be serious, and carry emotional weight, without attempting to offset that weight with witty this and that.

Your story songs feel true and from the heart.

Mike

Last edited by Michael Zaneski; 07/17/1710:54 PM.

Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choiceFortune depends on the tone of your voice

-The Divine Comedy (Neil Hannon)from the song "Songs of Love"from the album "Casanova" (1996)

Martin and I have a lot of overlap in our musical appreciation, so it's easy for me to arrange and produce rather intuitively and know that I'm at least hitting the mark somewhat.

Plus, I think I mentioned before, his own guitar work gives me lots of ideas in and of itself, in terms of doubling and harmonizing with other instruments. It's full of hammer-ons and pull-offs and chordal suspensions and is pretty damn contrapuntal for a mostly non-fingerpicking style.

Anyway, thanks friends.

And Martin, you aren't afraid to let a serious song be serious, and carry emotional weight, without attempting to offset that weight with witty this and that.

All good here man. In East Oregon for now. Hawaii for the winter. It's a long story.

How is this audio book coming? Sounds like a cool project.

The book is fun. Am getting help from a talented and skilful guy who I met on this site named Michael Zaneski. The first chapter is finished and I have sent it to a targeted literary agent. If I don't hear back in a month, gonna send it to whoever I can find, Nothing to lose by trying. Right?

The first chapter is 57 minutes long. If ...you like, send me an email and I'll link you to it. If that not's your thing, I completely understand. Don't worry about hurting my feelings

Music-wise, still doing the same sort of stuff I always have. I lost my son couple years ago, had just moved back to NC from SC when that happened. I went solo sailing (well, me and the dog) and lived on board for a year after that on the east coast. Wrote a new record during that, "A Sailors Waltz". I came home and not long after, my dog Gidget, the one you met, the one on the cover of "Good Dogs.." was killed, struck by a car. So that sort of set a whole other series of events in motion. I ended up with this seasonal ranch gig for a lady that owns a ranch here in east Oregon and another one on Oahu. We shut down here in two weeks and go to Oahu until May.

So yeah... I still do the same stuff for music. If you listen to the tracks I posted here, they are the same deal, just me setting my life to music really. Still not my favorite thing to try and write someone else story. More fun to live my own, then write about it.

On the bright side... remember the guy that used to criticize me for going after BMI for my "nickels"? I have collected a whole lot of nickels since then. I think a few people have done OK collecting nickels from BMI since then. I just wonder if that guy has ever found the "diamond" he said he was looking for while I was "wasting my time" collecting nickels.

Music-wise, still doing the same sort of stuff I always have. I lost my son couple years ago, had just moved back to NC from SC when that happened. I went solo sailing (well, me and the dog) and lived on board for a year after that on the east coast. Wrote a new record during that, "A Sailors Waltz". I came home and not long after, my dog Gidget, the one you met, the one on the cover of "Good Dogs.." was killed, struck by a car. So that sort of set a whole other series of events in motion. I ended up with this seasonal ranch gig for a lady that owns a ranch here in east Oregon and another one on Oahu. We shut down here in two weeks and go to Oahu until May.

So yeah... I still do the same stuff for music. If you listen to the tracks I posted here, they are the same deal, just me setting my life to music really. Still not my favorite thing to try and write someone else story. More fun to live my own, then write about it. On the bright side... remember the guy that used to criticize me for going after BMI for my "nickels"? I have collected a whole lot of nickels since then. I think a few people have done OK collecting nickels from BMI since then. I just wonder if that guy has ever found the "diamond" he said he was looking for while I was "wasting my time" collecting nickels.

I'm very sorry about your son. Also sorry about the dog. Clearly, that was a trying time.

On the lighter side, I'm glad you made BMI give you what was due and the Oregon/Hawaii thing sounds like a pretty good ride.

Now, "The going gets tough"... and eventually you will feel the "weight of the world" is stepping on you while you struggle to get this completed. Always take some time away from this labor of love to refresh and replenish your creative juices.

I suppose that's what I enjoy so much about creating songs. 1. Idea... 2. Lyric... 3. Melody... 4. Recording... 5. Tear it all up and start again... 6. Eventually muddle through... 7. Find that bottle of Black Jack and drown your sorrows... LOL!

Sometimes, not necessarily in that order. Heck, lately... step 7 seems more attractive all the time.

Now, "The going gets tough"... and eventually you will feel the "weight of the world" is stepping on you while you struggle to get this completed. Always take some time away from this labor of love to refresh and replenish your creative juices.

I suppose that's what I enjoy so much about creating songs. 1. Idea... 2. Lyric... 3. Melody... 4. Recording... 5. Tear it all up and start again... 6. Eventually muddle through... 7. Find that bottle of Black Jack and drown your sorrows... LOL!

Sometimes, not necessarily in that order. Heck, lately... step 7 seems more attractive all the time.

I couldn’t find the lyrics in Lyric 3...so I’m going to type as I listen...lol...I think this is very well-told with a mixture of images and story. The chorus is really a catchy staccato with “I miss the mountain air...” and I like how it rotates to “You begged me to forgive...etc...” Heartbreaking really, not only in sentiment but in the way it builds emotionally and musically. Great vocals, harmonies and I enjoyed the combo of talking bits.

The music, melody and production are all so well done. Sounds like a fun project! I wish you all the best with it!

Kristi

A musician must make music, an artist must paint, a poet must write,if he is to be ultimately at peace with himself. What a man can be,he must be. -- Abraham Maslow, American Psychologist

I couldn’t find the lyrics in Lyric 3...so I’m going to type as I listen...lol...I think this is very well-told with a mixture of images and story. The chorus is really a catchy staccato with “I miss the mountain air...” and I like how it rotates to “You begged me to forgive...etc...” Heartbreaking really, not only in sentiment but in the way it builds emotionally and musically. Great vocals, harmonies and I enjoyed the combo of talking bits.

The music, melody and production are all so well done. Sounds like a fun project! I wish you all the best with it!

Kristi

Kristi

I really appreciate your comment and enjoyed the way you look at the song. Please freely comment on anything of mine anytime.